Car Wishlist

May 28, 2016 — Adam

This was originally going to be a standalone post but I need to test my IFTTT recipe first. I also wrote this a while ago, but I needed something to post.

I haven’t done a wishlist post in a while (or any post for that matter), but instead of studying for finals like a rational human being, I decided to write down a list of things I want in my future car. That being said, I’ve had this list in my head for a long time but have never actually wrote it down - I figured if I got it out of my head and onto a page, I’d be able to focus on other things and be able to look back onto this post later as a reference instead of being constantly reminded of it.

Things with a ? indicate things that would be nice to have but either isn’t currently developed enough or is lacking in one way or another. So here we go.

Phone Connectivity

I know there are head units out there that support, say Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, but none of those two things do exactly what I want to do. I want to be able to connect my phone to my car, have music from my phone play in the car, select songs and get feedback from apps running on my phone (eg. Waze or Google Maps). So with today’s market it seems like Bluetooth connectivity with steering wheel controls is the way to go.

LED…things

I really like LEDs. I think they look nice and are usually very clean. They usually last longer than bulbs and can sometimes be brighter than regular bulbs. So why haven’t we seen it on everything? LED technology has definitely improved over the last few decades and is probably going to be cheaper to manufacture at some point. Just throw it in everything and I’ll be a happy camper. Brakelights, turn signals, interior lights, whatever.

Projector Headlights

Speaking of lighting, why not use projector type headlights for everything? I’m actually considering retrofitting my current headlights as a fun summer project, but I don’t really see the disadvantage, especially when done correctly. Better night visibility, cleaner light output. But, this is a wishlist.

Self-Driving?

This one…I’m mixed. It certainly would be nice to be able to just get in the car and then get out at your location, but I like driving. Not like racetrack driving, but casual driving. The automotive equivalent of someone who plays Bejeweled and calls themselves a “gamer”. I’m assuming at this point that safety autopilot type features are already standard on most vehicles.

Electric Vehicle?

I spent a significant portion of my evening reading Wait But Why posts on Tesla, SpaceX and SolarCity, and I have been convinced (for quite some time now), that electric is the way to go in the future. Seeing as Tesla’s Model 3 is set to be revealed in a few weeks, isn’t set on being sold until 2017, and I plan on driving my current car until it’s pretty much dead (which might be 5-10+ years out because Honda), I’d say that the Model 3 is probably in the (long long distance) sights for a next car. I could actually care less about any of these other features at that point. Especially at it’s supposed price point, what’s the disadvantage? I probably wouldn’t be making super long hauls in a car anyway. But you never know.

Gas Mileage?

Kind of a moot point if it’s electric. Say it isn’t. My current car does 24/31 and it’s from 2003. I’d say that’s actually pretty good, when compared to some cars today, 13 years later. Not a Prius though.

RWD? AWD?

Speaking of Tesla, what about drivetrains? I’ve only driven FWD cars my whole life and have never experienced RWD or AWD. It’d be nice to experience but the only reason that it has a ? is because of MPGs. Usually RWD (AWD especially) suffer from lower MPGs due to inefficiencies in bringing the power from the front to the back. And unless my next car is going to have the engine in the trunk, this isn’t going to work as I like to save money on gas. This gets thrown out the window when you bring in EVs, since there’s practically no difference in front or rear drive, just in torque at that point (and battery size).

Remote Windows

This is the biggest thing I want. It’s indescribably important, and I’m 90% sure that none of the cars of the market today have this feature. My car from 2003 does and it’s the best thing in warm weather which is fairly common as I live in Southern California. The ability to lower your windows to let hot air out before getting in and NOT wasting gas by turning the engine+A/C on is so nice, and I’m concerned that my next car won’t be able to do so. Heck, even my mom’s car from 2012 can’t do it (yet my dad’s car from 2012 can).